Coast Guard flag to be raised in POW/MIA service this year

A survivor of the World War II Bataan Death March and Japanese prison camps will speak at the annual community POW/MIA Service of Remembrance on Armed Forces Day May 18.

The service, honoring prisoners of war and those listed as missing in action, will be at 11 a.m. in Letterkenny Chapel, Letterkenny Army Depot, 2171 Carbaugh Ave.

This year, a new U.S. Coast Guard flag will be raised along with the flags of the other military branches.

Colonel Glenn Dowling Frazier, a former prisoner of war and survivor of the death march, enlisted in the army at age 16, passing himself off as 21, and was assigned to the Philippine Department under Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

When the Philippine-American forces surrendered in 1942, Frazier survived the transfer of prisoners and spent 3 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in slave labor camps in Japan.

Frazier said he will talk about his experiences during World War II and as a prisoner of war in Japan.

His memoir of those years, "Hell's Guest," was published in 2007. It took him 25 years to write, he said, because the terrible memories brought back by the project forced him to stop for periods of time. He gave it the title "Hell's Guest" because when the group of prisoners entered Japan, the emperor said to them, "You are guests of Japan."

"I wrote the book like I lived it -- in the first person," Frazier said.

Advertisement

The book tells of the harrowing experiences he and others endured as prisoners, including a time he was almost beheaded. He also relates, however, how he learned to forgive his Japanese captors after 40 years of nightmares.

Frazier received the Medal of Freedom, the Bronze Star, four Purple Hearts, and many other awards.

In 2007, he was featured in Ken Burns' 14-hour documentary, "The War."

The service

The service is sponsored by United Churches of the Chambersburg Area and the Joint Veterans Council of Chambersburg.

Music will be provided by Falling Spring Brass Choir, directed by David Wenerd; the Community Chorus, directed by Marcel Coates; and organist Freda J. Dorand of First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Chambersburg.

Letterkenny Army Depot Commander Col. Victor Hagan will welcome guests. Charles M. Nitterhouse Post 1599 Veterans of Foreign Wars will present colors and lead military honors in front of the chapel as the service concludes. Post 1599 Commander Charles Lucas will present the Code of Conduct and Memorial Recognition of POW/MIAs.

Area clergy and laypersons will also take part in the service.

Opportunities to sponsor memorial flags, trees, benches and pavers at the Franklin County Veterans and 9/11 Memorial Park continue to be available and are listed in a Memorial Park brochure.

For information or a brochure, call the Rev. Dr. Allie Harper Jr. at 267-3946 or the Rev. Dr. William Harter at 264-3828.

Iris Hersh can be reached at 262-4757 and ihersh@publicopinionnews.com.

ODESSA, Texas (AP) — A West Texas man has been charged with impersonating an officer by using sirens and flashing lights to skip to the head of the drive-thru line at a fast-food restaurant. Full Story